The invention relates to a public sanitary room with a water closet accessible through a door and a technical room subdivided off therefrom by a partition and which is provided with the means necessary for the supply, disposal and cleaning of the sanitary room and, in particular, a cleaning implement which can be brought up to the water closet after moving the partition or part thereof, as well as a drain.
Sanitary cubicles of the aforementioned type have of late been installed to an increasing extent at busy points in large cities. They are constructed as a type of three-dimensional cell and; generally, comprise a reinforced concrete body with a trough-like base and a roof mounted thereon. The three-dimensional cell is internally subdivided into two rooms, namely the sanitary room and the technical room and, in general, the sanitary room is provided with its own inner wall structure, e.g. of high-grade steel, aluminum or plastic in order to satisfy hygienic requirements. The sanitary room is provided with a water closet or lavatory pan, a wash basin, optionally also a mirror, depositing points, racks or the like and with a door, generally a sliding door, which closes a cutout in the three-dimensional cell. The technical room contains all the functional parts for supply, disposal and cleaning purposes and has a separate access door for maintenance and repair purposes.
Access to sanitary cubicles of this type is obtained by inserting a coin, which unlocks the outer door and possibly sets into operation certain functional parts such as the flushing system, exhaust ventilation, etc. When the user leaves the sanitary room the door is closed again and also locked and automatically a clean process is put into operation, which, in particular, involves a complete cleaning of the lavatory pan, the floor and possibly the water basin. The cleaning cycle also includes a drying process, so that the following user is provided with a clean, dry sanitary room. At the end of the cleaning process the locking action is automatically released, so that the closure or lock on the outer door can again be opened by inserting a coin. Sanitary cubicles of this type are directly connected to the main sewage system in situ, so that they can be normally operated in maintenance-free manner as an autonomous sanitary unit
The main problem in connection with such sanitary cubicles is a completely satisfactory cleaning of the sanitary room, particularly the complete lavatory pan and floor. It is not only necessary to remove faeces and paper from the lavatory pan in a complete manner, but also dirt, object left behind or thrown away, such as paper handkerchieves, packings, etc. Such a public sanitary cubicle will only be accepted by the public if it is hygienically cleaned in all respects. Various systems are known for cleaning purposes and, for example, in DE-A1 No. 33 22 356, the sanitary room and technical room are positioned concentrically to one another, the complete functional parts being located between the outer shell and the inner shell bounding the sanitary room. For cleaning purposes water passages are led out of the outer shell into the sanitary room, the water being distributed into the water closet, the washbasin and over the lower region of the inner wall. The water exclusively trickles over the walls and the pan. It is obvious that this type of water guidance does not permit intense cleaning, particularly an elimination of firmly adhering dirt or objects. In addition, the known construction of the toilet pan with siphon does not meet the requirements due to the considerable risk of clogging
In another known construction, instead of mere water cleaning or in addition thereto, a mechanical cleaning is performed. Thus, in DE-C2 No. 30 22 788 several sanitary rooms are arranged around a technical center having a type of robot accommodated therein. The individual sanitary rooms are constructed as rotary cabins and are rotated in front of the technical room with their passage opening for the cleaning phase, so that the robot cleaning arm can be introduced into the cabin. In this position, the rear open water closet is directly connected to the drain in the technical room. The robot can be equipped with various cleaning tools such as, for example, brushes, scrapers, water nozzles, etc., and, in successive working cycles, initially coarse dirt and fragments are discharged from the water closet and the latter is subsequently cleaned. With this robot construction it is also possible to externally clean the water closet, optionally also the floor and walls of the cabin. However, this cleaning process is extremely time consuming, because it is constituted by several successively performed cleaning cycles. The cleaning robot is itself constructionally complicated and is also susceptible to operating faults due to the large number of functions.
In, for example, EP-A1 No. 0 109 469, during the cleaning phase the complete lavatory pan is pivoted rearwards into the technical room, so that coarse parts drop out by gravity or can be removed with a revolving brush during the subsequent cleaning process. However, there is no adequate cleaning of the outside of the pan and, in particular, not of the sanitary room. A similar construction in EP-A1 No. 0 059 134 provides for a revolving brush housed in the technical room, which can be inserted into the sanitary room after removing part of the partition between the sanitary room and the technical room and can be so controlled from the movement standpoint by of two telescopic arms perpendicular to one another that it externally, top and internally passes over at least the front of the water closet. Here again, dirty water and coarse parts pass into the drain in the technical room through the back of the water closet being largely open to the drain. The edges are cleaned by a water duct located in the sanitary room and the floor is connected by of a drain pipe to the drain. In a similar construction, not previously published DE-A1 No. 37 04 375, the revolving brush is mounted in the technical room so as to move from top to bottom on the water closet or is pivotably mounted on an arm and in the case of completely or partly open partition can be pivoted into the sanitary room or water closet. In the case of the two latter constructions the cleaning of the complete outer wall of the water closet, as well as the floor and possibly the lower region of the side walls is inadequate or impossible.
On the basis of the aforementioned and last evaluated prior art, the aim underlying the present invention is to provide a sanitary cubicle, in which there is an effective and complete cleaning of the entire water closet or lavatory pan and all other dirt-prone regions of the sanitary room, while involving minimum technical effort and expenditure.
According to the invention this problem is solved in that on the support arm is provided a plurality of spray nozzles connected to a high pressure water source, whereof at least two are directed from above in different angular positions onto the lavatory pan and two or more are directed onto the sanitary room floor inclined towards the drain.
In the case of the construction according to the invention cleaning exclusively takes place with high pressure water. With the aid of high pressure water, particularly if it strikes the surfaces to be cleaned under an oblique angle, it is possible not only to remove firmly adhering contaminants, but also coarse matter and heavier objects from the lavatory pan or to float same away in the direction of the drain via the sloping floor. A completely satisfactory cleaning of the insides and outsides of the lavatory pan and the floor of the sanitary room, as well as optionally the lower part of the side walls can be ensured by a corresponding number, arrangement and orientation of the spray nozzles. There is no need for mechanically operating brushes which, particularly over long periods, become dirty and in certain circumstances reintroduce into the sanitary room dirt which has already been removed
In the sense of such a complete cleaning, according to a preferred construction, the support arm has at least one spray nozzle directed onto the outer wall of the lavatory pan. It is also advantageous if the support arm has two or more spray nozzles, whose jet cone at least partly is directed onto the lower region of the sanitary room side walls. It is also advantageous if the support arm has a spray nozzle directed onto the floor of the technical room in the direction of the drain, so that any coarse matter left behind in the technical room can also be passed into the drain.
In further preferred manner the spray nozzles are oriented in such a way that the water striking the surface to be cleaned assists the removal of the dirty water and contaminants to the drain. This construction not only removes the dirty water, but also coarse matter and larger objects are floated into the technical room and drain.
In order to effectively cover all areas to be cleaned and assist the floating away of coarse objects, at least part of the spray nozzles and in particular those directed onto the sanitary room floor are angularly adjustable during the cleaning phase. Thus, for example, the spray nozzles directed onto the sanitary room floor are angularly adjustable towards the drain. The jet cone of the spray nozzle is virtually guided in an arc over the floor, so that not only strongly adhering dirt, but also coarse parts are effectively floated away.
The aforementioned construction can be realized in that the angularly adjustable nozzles are located on one or more supports, which are articulated by means of a guide rod to the support arm. The drive can be constituted by hydraulic cylinder e.g. arranged on the support arm and acting on the guide rod.
According to another preferred embodiment, the support arm has over at least part of its length a downwardly open dome or hood, below which are arranged the spray nozzles directed from above onto the lavatory pan and which extends to close to the contour of said pan.
This measure ensures that the cleaning water deflected in part in uncontrolled manner and striking the irregular contour of the lavatory pan under high pressure is not splashed in the sanitary room, particularly in the upwards direction, so that dirt particles and the like can also be removed. In the case of regular surfaces, such as e.g. the floor, there is no uncontrolled splashing risk, so that there is no need to provide a dome there.
In the case of the sanitary cubicle in EP-A1 No. 0 059 134 and forming the starting point for the present invention, there is a floor drain pipe in the sanitary room connected to the drain in the technical room. In the known construction it is constantly open and is located in the area below the lavatory pan. To the floor drain pipe is connected a duct bent at right angles and which issues into the drain. This construction is disadvantageous, because it is not possible to avoid odors via the open drain pipe and the nature of the guidance thereof gives rise to clogging. According to the invention it is possible to seal the floor drain pipe by a flap, which can be moved into the open position by the support arm for cleaning purposes. The flap provides an odor seal and also the floor drain pipe can issue directly into the drain. The flap is automatically controlled upwards for cleaning, in that it is e.g. movable by means of a control element on the support arm and during this movement can be moved into the open position into the sanitary room. Thus, no separate drive and control means are required, so that an operationally more reliable construction is obtained. The flap can be closed by the return movement of the support arm, but preferably under gravity.
In the known sanitary cubicle, there is a lavatory pan, whose base is not inclined rearwards and whose rear wall can be moved away in the cleaning phase, in order to free a large-surface drain pipe in the direction of the drain. According to the invention the rear wall of the lavatory pan can be moved from the use into the cleaning position by means of the movement of the support arm for the cleaning phase The rearward opening of the pan also takes place by the movement of the cleaning implement, so that there is no need for separate drive and control means, which could in turn give rise to operational problems.
An advantageous construction is realized in that the rear wall of the lavatory pan is pivotably mounted to its base in the vicinity of the rear drain edge and can be moved out of the upwardly directed use position into a downwardly inclined cleaning position towards the drain in the technical room.
This makes it possible to spray and clean in problem-free manner the lavatory pan rear wall, particularly if its rearward gradient is the same as that of the bottom of the lavatory pan. It is optionally possible to provide a coarse rake below the drain edge of the rearwardly inclined rear wall and above the drain in order to hold back coarse matter, which is removed every so often from the technical room.
According to a preferred embodiment the flap for the bottom drain pipe and the rear wall of the lavatory pan are movable into the opening or cleaning position by means of a single control element on the support arm.
This construction leads to a particularly simple forced control of the flap for the bottom drain pipe and the rear wall of the lavatory pan in conjunction with the movement of the cleaning element, with this forced coupling taking place in a purely mechanical and therefore robust and operationally reliable manner.
Appropriately the support arm is pivotable by means of a drive from an approximately upright position in the technical room into a horizontal position in the sanitary room, where its free end extends into the vicinity of the door. The drive is preferably constituted by a hydraulic motor.
Finally, according to a preferred embodiment, the walls of the sanitary room are formed by a substantially cylindrical cabin, mounted in rotary manner on a vertical shaft in the sanitary room having an access opening for the sanitary cubicle door and which is so rotatable for the cleaning phase that the passage opening is directed towards the technical room.
In conjunction with the inventive construction of the cleaning implement, a construction such as described in DE-C2-No. 30 22 778 has the advantage that there is a large-area passage opening for the support arm with the spray nozzles, so that in particular there can be a plurality of spray nozzle at right angles to the support arm pivot plane.